Testimony of Sen. Ernest F. Hollings to Present a Congressional Gold Medal to Reverend Jospeh A. De Laine

Testimony of Sen. Ernest F. Hollings
To Present A Congressional Gold Medal to Reverend Joseph A. De Laine

Mr. Chairman and Senator Sarbanes, after 37 years in the Senate, this is the very first time I have come before this Committee to seek a Congressional Gold Medal. I have waited so many years because I believe deeply that Congress should present its highest award sparingly, and that our expression of national appreciation should go to only the worthiest of the worthy.

Joseph A. De Laine is such a nominee. His circumstances are all the more remarkable because it has taken half a century of hindsight to see that his effort to break down barriers to education during a very troubled time in our history has made this nation, more than ever, a land of opportunity.

My legislation to posthumously bestow the Gold Medal to Reverend De Laine was co-sponsored by 80 of my fellow Senators, Democrats and Republicans. I thank them all, in particular, my colleague from South Carolina, Senator Graham, for his efforts. I also thank this Committee for speedy consideration of this legislation, as next year we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that desegregated our public schools and it would be appropriate to honor Reverend De Laine at that time.

Reverend De Laine's efforts started eight years before another Gold Medal winner, Rosa Parks, refused to move to the back of the bus. He was a minister and principal in Summerton, SC. Seeing that African-American children had to walk 10 miles to attend a segregated school, he organized their parents to petition the school board for a bus and gasoline. A year later, in Briggs v. Elliot, the parents sued to end segregation. It was a case that as a young lawyer I watched Thurgood Marshall argue before the Supreme Court as one of the five cases collectively known as Brown v. Board of Education. For this Senator it was a great awakening; their arguments re-shaped my view on racial matters for ever more.

For his efforts Reverend De Laine was subjected to a reign of domestic terrorism. He lost his job. He watched his church and home burn. He almost lost his life. He was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill after shots were fired at his home, and he fired back simply to mark the car. He was forced to leave South Carolina forever; relocate to New York, where he

MORE - started an AME Church; and he eventually retired in North Carolina. Not until the year 2000, 26 years after his death and 45 years after the incident in his home was Reverend De Laine cleared of all charges.

He lived a scarred life, but our society would be a lot worse off today without his courage. Without his example, we never would have had a Civil Rights Act. We never would have had a Voting Rights Act. We never would have all the progress we've made over the many, many years. In this Chamber, we vote often to increase funding for the schools, to provide more teachers, more testing, and the like; but that pales to what this private citizen did for our nation's children, black and white, 50 years ago.

This award has always gone to people who gave our nation immeasurable benefits; in this Senator's opinion, this nominee is in that very special and unique class. He deserves our highest accolade. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.